What’s Your Experience With Vaccines?

Last month I released a blog post entitled “Can The Flu Shot Trigger Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?“. Even though it was a very controversial post, it was also a popular one. And the reason for this is because most people have a strong opinion about vaccines. Of course many people are in favor of everyone receiving vaccines, while others are completely opposed to all vaccines. A small percentage of people fall somewhere in the middle where they perhaps aren’t opposed to vaccines, but they also don’t agree with the current vaccine schedule.

Either way I figured I’d get the opinions of others who have received the flu shot, along with other vaccines. I realize that many people who receive vaccines don’t experience negative side effects. However, some people do, and I’d like to hear both sides of the story.

And so if you had a positive experience in the past when getting vaccines, please let me know! And if you had a negative experience when getting the flu shot and/or other vaccines please let me know! If you personally haven’t had a negative experience but have close friends or family members who haven’t done well with vaccines feel free to share this as well! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with others.

Our family would be in the somewhere in the middle group. We have vaccinated our children but on our schedule. We never get a flu shot as we have not seen any evidence that the flu shot is effective. The benefit (prevention of the flu) to the cost (exposure to toxic heavy metals) has never been favorable us.

If we get the flu in our house is has been very minor and handled with simple treatments and remedies. We would rather boost our immunity through diet and other natural measures rather than vaccines.

Thanks for asking and we do use you experience and websites as part of our health awareness and find it very valuable.

The only vaccine I’ve had as an adult – a tetnus shot – is what I’m absolutely certain caused my Grave’s disease, which led to RAI, and changed my life forever. Now I’m forever dependent on doctors who are willing to prescribe natural thyroid because I cannot function on synthetic T4, and not freak out at my suppressed TSH, and most of them are not. I hate this.

What exactly is Natural Thyroid, and can you tell me of it’s safety? I do NOT like big pharma meds at all and I try to do everything as naturally as possible. Only twice in my life did I get the flu shot and I swear to this day it screwed up my thyroid. I have a thyroid issue .. NO clue what exactly other then my doctor calls it a wacky thyroid. It is horrible when you have no energy and can’t get out of your own way. Finally today after 6 years of arguing with my doctor, did they agree to tests me for TSH T3 T4 and the Thyroid Antibody. I do have to take a blood pressure medicine, that I am working on getting off, but in the meantime if my doctor agrees to Natural Thyroid,do you know if there are side effects? I want to go back for my appointment with some more knowledge… Thank you.

I know that when I went on a natural thyroid medication from eltroxin I had severe diarrhea and anxiety but my thyroid levels read within the correct range. I chose to go back to the synthetic thyroid medication and I felt much better taking that.Just because medication s are natural it doesn’t mean that it is the right one for you. Every one reacts different to each medication so I would be very careful at switching if it seems to work for you.I had RAI treatment about 7 years ago because of Graves. At the time I was not educated in other options.

After I received the flu shot in late 2011, I experienced severe bleeding dermatitis on both palms of my hands. (Never, ever had any skin issues) not only was it extremely painful but embarrassing. I broke out in hives everyday and my eyes were swollen. (The flu insert says these are side effects) I felt really bad for awhile after. It was later in 2012 that I found out I had Hashimotos.
Since getting the flu shot I have experienced one health problem after another. I have always been healthy.
Through all of my research, a body cannot be healthy while injecting poisons into your body. Never again!

I have never had the flu shot but I did stupidly get a bunch of shots before getting married in Costa Rica. My thyroid symptoms started shortly after that but it took a couple years to get the official Graves diagnosis. Now that I have 3 children I’ve done much more research on vaccines and the studies scare the hell out of me. Not to mention all the friends I have with austic children who say that started after the MMR. No more vaccines will ever be given in our house. I would rather take the risk of catching the disease and treating it holistically than the side effects of these vaccines. On a side note I caught pertussis from my 9 month old daughter after she was was vaccinated (before I knew better). I had no idea you can become a silent carrier when you get the Tdap vaccine. Of course I researched that after having to deal with a horrible case of whooping cough for 3 months.

I only had one flu shot in my life and was sick about an hour after getting it (and very sick for about 5 days afterwards). My health declined immediately following that – I have Hashimotos now and the flu shot was what triggered it as I was in good health before receiving that vaccine. Many health issues have followed and even though I am improved 10 years later I am not back to the good health I had before that vaccine and the past 10 years had been a struggle. At one point all I could do was get out of bed and go to the couch for the day – I spend a year and 1/2 like that.

I nearly died from the flu shot I received in 2006. I had a severe autoimmune response to it. I ultimately was hospitalized for nine days and was tested for everything including multiple spinal taps. My right eye turned inward and stayed that way. My BP went from 117/78 to 225/124. My right arm wouldn’t move. I had severe pain. I had esophageal and bladder spasms. They finally determined that it was autoimmune but never determined which one it was. After a while, I developed brain lesions which moved around my brain. They insisted on a brain biopsy and they couldn’t determine what it was. Since they were specialists they had to come up with a diagnosis so they said it must be luminous they proceeded to put me through heavy doses of mehthotrexate until I said STOP. My lesions were gone before the first treatment and they kept it up for seven months. I left, completely depleted of what you need to live. Then, I went to my computer. I finalfy found Hypothyroid Mom. I discovered that I had Hashimoto’s disease. Eight years of hell and it was too late to go back to where I was before. I was a new RN and they lost a good nurse. I’ve been on permanent disability due to it ever since.

I’ve known people to experience negative side effects with vaccines, but I do not. Playing dead rising 3 may have distracted me from any sort of symptoms that I didn’t even realize I had. The positive experience of not getting sick is hopefully worth the negative symptoms some may face.

i had whooping cough when I was about 10 yr old; I had not been vaccinated; it was such a horrible sickness that I I would never have not vaccinated my children; they were vaccinated, as well as my grandchildren…My husband and I now get a yearly flu shot ( have been getting them for about five years now); have never had a bad reaction to them; our shots have given us very healthy winters; I am 67 and my husband is 72; if we were younger, we probably would not get them; if I had young children now, I probably wouldn’t get them a flu shot, either; would use natural remedies as I did when they were young…but I do believe in vaccinations for children…Note: we always get the preservative-free flu shots; wouldn’t get them otherwise!

I’ve received the flu shot in the past and never had a problem. However, the last time I had the flu shot on 10/25 I began experiencing soreness in my neck. A few weeks later I noticed swelling in my throat, turned out to be my thyroid. I also wear a Fitbit and my resting heart rate is always in the low 50s. I noticed around the time I got the flu shot my resting heart rate started increasing and is now at 84. I’m taking beta blockers to help with the palpitations. I’m currently seeing an Endocrinologist for the thyroid issues. I did have a baby back in April and have been told it could be postpartum thyroiditis but that usually occurs within 6m postpartum and I’m 7m.